Indiana football became the nation's first bowl eligible team on Saturday with its 41-24 win on the road over Northwestern.
As the Hoosiers now enter their first bye week of the season, they have since moved up to No. 18 in the most recent AP Poll.
Here's my final thoughts from Indiana's Big Ten road win over Northwestern.
SEE ALSO
- How it Happened: No. 23 Indiana offense surges to beat Northwestern 41-24
- No. 23 Indiana beats Northwestern, becoming first bowl eligible FBS team
- Facing adversity, IU closed against Northwestern like a 'championship team’
- Cignetti, Indiana remain 'never satisfied' despite historic 6-0 start
INDIANA'S OFFENSE IS THE BIGGEST STRENGTH OF THIS FOOTBALL TEAM
For the fifth consecutive game, Indiana's offense put up north of 40 points on Saturday in the win over Northwestern. The Hoosiers have scored 40-plus point in all but one of their six games to begin the season, with the lone exception being week one against Florida International.
Against the Wildcats, the Hoosiers' offense once again looked full of fire power, however just like they did a week prior against Maryland, the offense came out slow to begin the game.
Against the Terrapins in week five, quarterback Kurtis Rourke threw interceptions on the first two drives of the game. In Saturday's week six matchup with Northwestern, it was a turnover on downs and a punt on the first two drives for Indiana.
However, from that point on, Indiana didn't stop scoring. The Hoosiers scored on their next seven drives -- coming away with points on each and every drive the rest of the game outside of the Indiana taking a few kneels to close the game out.
It was almost automatic for the Hoosiers offensively on Saturday. Outside of the handful of kneel downs to run the clock to triple zeros, Indiana scored on seven of its nine drives. The Hoosiers scored touchdowns on five of those drives, while two resulted in field goals.
Against a Northwestern defense that entered the contest allowing just 2.8 yards per carry on the season, Indiana's rushing attack managed 149 yards on 35 carries -- 4.3 yards per carry. The Hoosiers found the end zone twice on the ground.
Through the air, Rourke turned in yet another fantastic performance. The sixth-year senior completed 76% of his passes for 380 yards and three passing touchdowns to three different receivers. As a team, the Hoosiers totaled 529 yards of total offense.
This Indiana offense has been not only one of the best offensive units in the Big Ten so far this season. They've also been one of the most prolific scoring teams in the entire country. If the Hoosiers continue to possess this type of offensive firepower, there's no telling how far this team can go.
SHOULD THERE BE CONCERN WITH INDIANA'S DEFENSIVE DISPLAY?
If there was one cause for concern on an otherwise marvelous day for Indiana on Saturday, it would be the play of its defense. Now, should Hoosier fans be worried about the defensive display over the weekend? Yes and no.
Prior to the week six contest, Northwestern was averaging just over 17 points per game. The Wildcats scored 24 on Saturday. In Northwestern's most recent game, a loss to Washington, the Wildcats managed just 112 total yards, they surpassed that mark in the second quarter against the Hoosiers.
Furthermore, Northwestern quarterback Jack Laush went 8-for-27 for less than 60 yards passing and two interceptions against the Huskies. On Saturday against the Hoosiers, he completed 61% of his passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns, he didn't turn the ball over once.
A majority of the issues for Indiana came when Lausch was able to use his legs to get outside the pocket. He ran for just 34 yards over the weekend, however he was consistently able to find open receivers down the field once he escaped from the pocket.
All of that is cause for concern for Indiana, however there's still plenty of reasons to remain confident in the Hoosiers' defense unit as well.
The Hoosiers still managed 2.0 sacks and and 6.0 tackles for loss against the Wildcats. Northwestern was held under 93 yards rushing on the day and less than 340 total yards of offense. Not taking the opponent into account, those are solid numbers.
Additionally, Indiana spent the entirety of the second half without stud linebacker Jailin Walker. Walker was not only second on the team in tackles entering the week six matchup, but he's one of the Hoosiers' quickest and most athletic defensive players, traits that would've been of great use in trying to slow down the scrambling ability of Lausch.
Also, when Indiana needed it most, the Hoosiers' defense forced back-to-back turnover downs' late in the fourth quarter.
While it wasn't a great defensive performance on Saturday, it also wasn't a terrible one either. Plus, if Indiana's offense wants to continue to put up 40 points a game, the Hoosiers won't have to be perfect on the defensive side of the ball.
INDIANA 'FINISHED THE GAME LIKE A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM'
The best teams in the country play their best football late in games when it matters the most. That's exactly what Indiana did on Saturday to close out the win over Northwestern.
With just over 11 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats scored a touchdown to cut the Hoosiers' advantage to just three points. Facing perhaps the most adversity the team has faced all season, Indiana responded.
The Hoosiers scored a touchdown on their ensuing offensive possession to go back up by two scores. Indiana's defense then forced a turnover on downs before repeating the cycle one more time to close out the win.
"We finished the game like a championship team," head coach Curt Cignetti said following the game.
It was good to see Indiana handle the adversity well on Saturday. Not only did the offense step up with two big fourth quarter touchdowns, but the defense -- who had struggled throughout the game -- came away with two big stops to put the game to bed.
Indiana's ability to battle through adversity and close games strong are just a couple of the plethora of qualities that makes this team so special. Indiana is off to a historic start to the season, Only time will tell what the rest of the season holds for these Hoosiers.
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